This invention relates to electronic equipment cabinets, to the control of noise generated by electromechanical equipment and to the cooling of enclosed electronic equipment.
Electrical and electronic equipment cabinets have been built since the late 1800""s. Serviceability, access to internal components and internal heat management and control have been issues in their design for almost as long, but the need to control noise generated by internal components is a relatively new development driven by the use of equipment in sound and video recording and editing which needs to be located physically near the user.
Earlier methods to control mechanical noise generated by such devices were accomplished by placing those devices in separate rooms that were acoustically isolated from the user or in separate areas of the same room treated with sound absorbing materials. A separate room generally requires extra personnel to load and operate the recorders while same room operation is a generally a substantial compromise in equipment noise control.
With the introduction of digital audio recording and editing equipment, acoustical background noise in the recording work environment has become an even more important every day consideration.
The introduction of digital audio recorders and editing systems has been accompanied by a substantial reduction in size of these devices and has made it possible to locate them physically near the operator. This development, however, brought with it an annoying awareness of the electromechanical noise generated by that new equipment.
This invention includes a sealed cabinet for housing electronic equipment having acoustically isolated air intake and exhaust ports, means for generating cooled high volume/low pressure air flow through the cabinet and acoustically sealed wiring ports for interfacing and powering said electronic equipment. The invention also includes means for monitoring and manually or automatically compensating the cabinet""s internal temperature and a transparent front door to allow visual observation of the electronic equipment mounted therein. Sound and vibration absorbing elements are strategically located within the cabinet to maximize noise reduction.
The primary objects of the invention are to provide means for reducing and controlling noise generated by electronic equipment housed within the invention while managing the heat generated by said equipment to guarantee safe operating temperatures for that equipment.
Secondary objects of the invention are to allow visual observation of the housed equipment front panels and visual monitoring of temperature inside the invention and to allow practical and easy service and wiring of all electronic and electromechanical devices housed within the invention.
The invention disclosed herein is a system for controlling acoustical noise and heat generated by electrical and/or electronic equipment.
The invention consists of a sealed enclosure having acoustically absorbent inner walls, a transparent sealed front door, and a hinged sealed rear access panel to facilitate equipment wiring and installation. The invention includes a high volume/low pressure air cooling system comprised of an acoustically isolated air intake port an acoustically isolated air exhaust port containing a plurality of fans and a vibration absorption/isolation system for mounting electronic equipment within the enclosure. The invention also includes sealed electrical ports for interfacing the equipment housed within the enclosure to the outside while substantially reducing acoustical noise generated by that equipment. Means for monitoring and controlling internal cabinet temperature are also a part of the invention.